Bankruptcy for Jefferson County is the wrong action to settle billions of dollars in debt that was created illegally, one state legislator said today.

Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, held a press conference in Kelly Ingram Park, where she presented evidence she said shows the initial sewer bond transactions were illegally done because they were not signed by all members of the County Commission. Moore also called for a community meeting on the issue Thursday.

She likened the actions of the commission and a potential Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing to throwing the residents of Jefferson County on top of a bonfire and letting them burn.

"The law is not behind them and what they are intending to do," she said of the current commissioners, who have called a meeting for Thursday at which they could vote to authorize a bankruptcy filing.

Moore presented research from the Legislative Reference Service that cites Section 11-1-16 in the Code of Alabama 1975 and a court case as evidence.

"Based on the above, it is our opinion that all members, including the presiding officer of a county commission, are required to sign warrants under Title 11 of the Code of Alabama 1975, for borrowing purposes," a letter from a legislative analyst concludes.

In addition to the current and former commission, Moore criticized the former and current governors and attorneys general for failing to take action on the illegal bond transactions.

"We question how many high-level people in Jefferson County should have been prosecuted," she said. "The trail runs all the way from south Alabama to north Alabama, east to west, and all the way to Wall Street."

She said only Commissioner George Bowman, among current commissioners, has cooperated in efforts to prevent bankruptcy and the recommended sewer rate hikes from the court-appointed receiver.

"It's totally unfair and criminal to charge the residents of Jefferson County for a debt that didn't benefit the residents of the county whatsoever," Moore said. "The process was done illegally."

Moore announced a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Greater Shiloh Baptist Church on Jefferson Avenue to discuss the crisis. She urged participants to come and "stand up" to public officials.

Moore was among a dozen people, including Birmingham City Council President Roderick Royal, who last month filed a motion in Jefferson County Circuit Court to intervene on behalf of sewer ratepayers. Four other Jefferson County legislators filed a similar motion, saying proposed rate increases, along with future increases, would financially strangle those least able to afford it. Those motions were denied.